Posted by Bibleman [Bibleman] on November 12, 1999 at 10:33:11 {CkRQXOxAaIMSSTtTA17sslyACFuF8c}:
In Reply to: The Great "Conspiracy" posted by Fred Goff on November 12, 1999 at 04:58:40:
Hi Fred,
I'm with you about being skeptical about anything until it is proven. But the fact is there are too many circumstances to ignore.
For instance the belief that Russell and Rutherford were Freemasons. It's one thing to make this idle claim where this is nothing else to suggest any connection. It's quite another when you've got the "Watchtower" magazine showing Freemason and Knights of Templar emblems and each of the "Studies in the Scriptures" sporting the winged disk, and having Russell claim that the Pyramid at Giza had Biblical significance in predicting the end of the times.
Then to top it all off, it wasn't Russell who had a pyramid with the well-known Masonry symbolism of the all-seeing eye at the top, but the WBTS! That's right! The pyramid on Russell's grave was a memorial the WBTS, meaning Rutherford, had placed there. It was Rutherford who then tried to make him the "Faithful and Discreet Slave" and called him the "angel of the congregation of Laodicea" which is also on his tomb.
So one must ask, why wouldn't anybody else, but especially a Freemason himself not think this was one of their secret "brothers"? So this has stopped being an unfounded "conspiracy" it is now what you call a "scandal"!
Same with the Mormon connection. It's just a casual rumor we can brush off if there is no credible connection. But when we find out that the WBTS uses the Mormons for their internet consultants, and there were other claims that the Mormons are the ones whom originally developed the prophetic pyramid theory, with Russell being accused of plagiarizing the idea (which is of no concern, even the 2520 years and 1914 was "borrowed"), one tends to think there is a connection.
But this is not a detail to be ignored. In fact, it confirms a connection beyond the original accusation. This is like the high priest saying of Jesus: "What further need to we have of witnesses? He said it himself. Blasphemy!"
If I were a Freemason and saw a cross-and-crown on a magazine, I'd think the organization was "Freemasonry" central. Especially since some of the secret societies in the mysteries had long formulated the idea to infiltrate legitimate organizations as a front for their own secret activities.
The witness organization is truly IDEAL! It's a dream come true for secret cults, the CIA and FBI alike. And that's because of the nature of this religion which goes from door-to-door. If you wanted to be a spy and transfer secret messages or have secret meetings, it would be just a matter of having a "Bible study" with someone in the community. You could even travel to another country or city and participate in the field service and make all the contacts you want. In addition, being the field service allows for private conversations that might not be recorded in case your house is bugged.
The WTS is a great organization to hide out in if you're in a secret society and need a cult-front organization.
At any rate, when things are said and there is no corroborating evidence, that's one thing. You can dismiss it as rumor or "conspiracy." Once you start seeing some evidence suspicious or otherwise, it is time to have heightened awareness.
So it is simply amazing that even on the net, Jehovah's witnesses, Russell, the "Illuminati", Freemasonry, pyramids, etc. all seem to be a recurring theme. Even Hitler thought the witnesses were backed by the Jews, likely Jewish secret society-Freemasonry rumors...
So we'll just have to wait and see on this one. It's beyond the "conspiracy" stage. Let's call it "unsubstantiated but suspicious rumours" at this point.
Cheers,
Bibleman